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“I have always wanted a little girl…and I knew it was going to make our family complete.”

“I felt that it was OK to be happy about this pregnancy….and we were, we were just over the moon and thrilled.”

“We’ve always tried to come up with unique ways of telling my parents and family and friends, and so this time we had Alex [his son] hold up a sign that said ‘future big brother'”.

These are the words of a couple, Danielle and Robb, who later became the victim of Nebraska’s awful 20-week abortion ban when Danielle experienced complications in her pregnancy at 22 weeks. Now, based on their infuriating experience of being told they could not access the medical procedure they needed because of an arbitrary 20-week abortion ban, they are mobilizing with Planned Parenthood against similar laws in Arizona and Georgia.

Getting stories like this out in the open is incredibly important for building support for reproductive justice. Although I’ve written before about the dangers of presenting only a “perfect victim” of anti-abortion laws, i.e. a white, heterosexual couple with a wanted pregnancy whose medical complications forced them to require abortion, it’s clear that we need more real life stories of real people’s experiences with arbitrary and ridiculous policies, so folks can see the effects of their gleeful spree of bans and restrictions. The key is to present a wide range of experiences, and not privilege some over others. Danielle and Rob’s story should certainly enrage us, as members of a movement that aims to promote and protect women’s health and rights. But they should also remind us of the need to continue our work to advocate for abortion access for ALL women, not just so-called “perfect victims”. The pro-choice movement can’t progress its agenda by dwelling on exceptions — it’s got to start setting the agenda and making the rules. Maybe then we can be on the offense (how about a “Think Long and Hard Before You Try to Get in the Way of Reproductive Justice” bill that mandates a 2-week waiting period before you can submit anti-choice legislation) rather than the defense in some of these state battles.

Brooklyn, NY

Lori Adelman is a writer and advocate focusing on race, gender, and sexual and reproductive rights. In addition to her work at Feministing, Lori is an Associate Director at Planned Parenthood Global. Lori has previously worked at the United Nations Foundation, the International Women’s Health Coalition, and Human Rights Watch, and has written for a host of print and digital properties including Rookie Magazine, The Grio, and the New York Times Magazine. She regularly appears on radio and television, and has spoken at college campuses across the U.S. about topics like the politics of black hair, transnational movement building, and the undercover feminism of Nicki Minaj. In 2014, she was named to The Root 100 list of the nation's most influential African Americans, and to the Forbes Magazine list of the "30 Under 30" successful people in media.

Lori Adelman is an Executive Director of Feministing in charge of Partnerships.

A federal judge ruled against the Obama administration’s current system of family detention late Friday, saying that it violated minimum requirements forconditions for children held in federal immigration custody, particularly provisions requiring that minors be placed in nonsecure facilities run by agencies licensed for child care.

That secure private prison complexes are inherently unable to be child-appropriate settings should really come as a surprise to no one.

The long overdue decision affirms what Cristina Parker at Grassroots Leadership points out thousands of immigration advocates across the country have been saying for over a year now: that existing federal requirements regarding the treatment of unaccompanied minorsapprehended at the border (which require such basic protections as a policy favoring quick release, proper physical care and maintenance, and legal services) also protect children caught with their parents. ...

A federal judge ruled against the Obama administration’s current system of family detention late Friday, saying that it violated minimum requirements forconditions for children held in federal immigration custody, particularly provisions requiring that minors be placed in nonsecure facilities ...

The latest undercover “sting” video seeking to discredit Planned Parenthood is here. In this selectively edited video, a group called the Center for Medical Progress charges that the reproductive health clinics are “selling” fetal tissue and organs.

The person behind the Center for Medical Progress, a group of self-described “citizen journalists” monitoring medical ethics which didn’t seem to be doing much until it launched its “investigation” into Planned Parenthood, is the former research director for Live Action, the anti-choice group that put out similarly misleading videos targeting the organization over sex-selective abortions and sex-trafficking.

The latest undercover “sting” video seeking to discredit Planned Parenthood is here. In this selectively edited video, a group called the Center for Medical Progress charges that the reproductive health clinics are “selling” fetal tissue and organs.

The myth that abortion causes mental health problems should have been long sinceput to restat this point. But in case you needed yet more evidence that those anti-choice signs insisting that “women DO regret abortion” are full of it, here’s some.

According to a new study that tracked hundreds of women who had abortions, more than 95 percent of participants reported that ending a pregnancy was the right decision for them. Feelings of relief outweighed any negative emotions, even three years after the procedure.

Researchers examined both women who had first-trimester abortions and women who had procedures after that point (which are often characterized as “late-term abortions”). When it came to ...

The myth that abortion causes mental health problems should have been long sinceput to restat this point. But in case you needed yet more evidence that those anti-choice signs insisting ...